USA – Peoria, Arizona, 20 March 2011

So, what could be so compelling, that I will drive more than five hours to the Grand Canyon, only to spend 1.5 hours there, and not a second more?

Baseball. Mariners Spring training to the be specific. That was the highlight of my trip. People have commented on my obsession with baseball/softball. I guess they realized it way before I did myself. Yes. I am willing to fly more than 3 hours, and drive more than 10 hours to attend a 2 hour game that is of absolutely no consequence. That is the distance that I am willing to go for baseball.

Well, after heading north from Peoria and dropping off the two at Grand Canyon, I backtracked, and drove solo for five hours to go for the 1 pm game at Peoria, Arizona. Despite my frustration at finding the Peoria Sports Complex, it was definitely worth it. The drive was pretty interesting; I actually saw some pretty huge cactus! And ball game was worth it. I got the super cheap seats, and Erik Bedard took the mount today. He had his stuff, and whiffed the San Diego Padres. Also, cheap as my seats were, I was actually super close to the bullpen, and guys like Michael Pineda, David Aarsdma and Brandon League were hanging out in the bullpen, so I got pretty close to them! I didn’t get to stay to the end of the game, as I had to drive back to Grand Canyon to pick the two, and head back to Vegas, but well, at least when I was leaving, the Mariners were winning. (I checked the scores a couple of days later – they won! :))

Another semi-highlight of the Peoria part of the trip was trying In-&-Out Burger. It’s a super popular joint in the Southwest, and I guess, particularly California? I asked for advice from J about what to order, since he’s quite a fan of it. His suggestion was great! I had the double meat, animal style, and fries well done (something like that), which translates to double meat burger with grilled onions and mustard, and super crunchy fries.

‘Twas a good day. Gave me enough adrenaline for the crazy 8 hour drive back to Grand Canyon. On the way, we stopped by a KFC that actually had a buffet. It’s a same that the KFC buffet was over by the time we got there. But as it was 10 buck 10 piece Sunday, we got ourselves a huge bucket, and stuffed our faces. It was oddly satisfying. KFC really doesn’t taste as bad as everyone makes it out to be!